Easton mobile home park fights rent reduction

Monday

Jul 7, 2014 at 2:03 AMJul 7, 2014 at 9:16 AM

By Paula VoglerEnterprise correspondent

EASTON – After receiving more than 1,000 pages of documents, ranging from income and operating expenses to detailed purchases and receipts, the Board of Selectmen, acting as the town’s mobile home park rent control board, heard more information about the situation at the Turnpike Street facility during a recent hearing.Residents of the park want their monthly rent cut from $468 to $293, citing the park’s condition.

When a court-ordered rental freeze expired in 2011, the park’s owner, Morgan Management, spiked the rent from $330 to $468 a month.

Justin DaMore of Meyers Environmental described some of the recent work done to address issues at the park.

DaMore said some of the problems on Third Street and elsewhere involve degradation of materials used for the sewer system that are no longer manufactured.

In addition, DaMore said workers found a lot of dirt and non-flushable disposable wipes in the system which will not break down and thus plug the lines.

He said individual pump chambers would be installed above ground and individual trailers would all be plumbed to those pumps.

The current plan encompasses the entire park, according to DaMore.

DaMore said the park is in full compliance with the DEP guidelines and moving forward with a new plan that would take a year to implement at an approximate cost of $300,000 to $400,000.

The original system was not designed for the sewage flows being seen today, he said.

Kraus said the park is in compliance with the DEP time line for resolution of the problems.

He also said there was litigation against the former engineer who designed the park’s system.

“We’re trying to remedy a problem that started with the prior owner,” Kraus said.

“If you are successful in your lawsuit, the residents deserve some of that,” Selectman Colleen Corona told Kraus.

Kraus also had Diane Volkmar, controller for Morgan Management, go through the financial statements with the board and again said the burden was on the residents to prove their case for a rent reduction.

According to Kraus, the company spent an additional $10,000 to $15,000 generating the documents the board had requested.

Volkmar said Morgan Management had a $2.5 million original loan on the property.

Kraus said, if rents go down, it would be nearly impossible to refinance that loan.

He said the owners have been using some of their own money to keep the park they purchased a decade ago afloat.

“We are currently in maturity default,” Volkmar said. “They can ask us for that money at any time. We are almost a year in default.”

When asked about removing dilapidated or rundown homes and installing new ones, Kraus said it cost about $5,000 per home to do that.

He said some homes need to be demolished but cannot be replaced with the same-size unit because they are no longer manufactured.

Also, in the case of abandoned homes, the park has to go through a lengthy legal process.

“There’s no abandonment process,” Kraus said. “It is very difficult to evict a renter who is not paying, let alone get possession or have the right of sale … if you can’t find a human being.”

Jeff Hallahan, president of the Massachusetts Manufactured Housing Association, spoke on rents in parks around the state.

He said he felt the Easton park rent is reasonable given the desirability of the community, the good schools and the potential to redevelop the front section of the park but also admitted it was hard to compare rents because many parks do not want to divulge what is charged and each park was different from another.

“What you may be able to get based on amenities (in the community) has really nothing to do with what this board has to ultimately decide,” said Town Counsel Jay Talerman.